Celtics Rumors: Franchise Sale Receives $1 Billion Investment

Bill Chisholm’s incoming ownership group received a massive helping hand in their record-breaking $6.1 billion purchase of the Boston Celtics.

Aditya Mittal, 49, reportedly contributed a $1 billion investment to become the second-largest stakeholder of the Celtics behind Chisholm, according to Sportico. The team’s sale is still awaiting its approval, set to take place this upcoming sale before the NBA’s board of governors this summer.

“The CEO of steel giant ArcelorMittal and a member of one of India’s richest families is investing $1 billion into the William Chisholm-led purchase of the Boston Celtics,” Sportico’s Scott Soshnick, Kurt Badenhausen and Eben Novy-Williams reported Thursday. “Aditya Mittal will likely be the second-largest stakeholder of the 18-time NBA champions and potentially be the alternate governor in the future, according to multiple people familiar with the details.”

Mittal’s investment could set the wheels in motion to make him the team’s future alternate governor once Chisholm officially takes over.

Chisholm, a Massachusetts native and Dartmouth College graduate, was revealed as the organization’s next majority owner in March, set to replace Wyc Grousbeck following the 2027-28 season. But at the time of Chisholm’s initial introduction, the sale had not been fully financed, which led to an outpouring of rumors indicating that Chisholm’s group had spent weeks recruiting additional investors to assist with the sale.

The NBA’s current investment rules state that all controlling owners must own at least 15% of the team. In Chisholm’s case, that would require a $915 million down payment before getting behind the wheel in the driver’s seat next to Grousbeck.

Mittal is the son of Lakshmi Mittal, the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal — the second-largest steelmaking company in the world. Aditya stepped in as the company’s CEO in 2021 and was even on the board of Goldman Sachs, per Sportico, which provided financial advising for Chisholm’s group before purchasing the Celtics.

Next, the organization will approach a critical offseason following its failed pursuit of a championship repeat. The Celtics crashed and burned in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks, and Jayson Tatum (ruptured Achilles tendon) and Jaylen Brown (partially torn right meniscus) were both left wounded. What that means for the future of the team is among the biggest NBA offseason questions.

The Celtics, as their roster sits, are projected to become the first ever $500 million payroll in NBA history. Tatum’s $315 million supermax and Sam Hauser’s $45 million extension are both set to kick in. Hauser’s $10 million salary next season, for example, could cost the organization an additional $80 million in luxury tax penalties.

In other words, it’ll soon be time for Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens to get to work and explore the trade market.

“I can tell you, the rest of the league is bracing for some level of change to come to the Celtics, from their roster, this offseason,” ESPN’s Shams Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier this month. “Sources have been telling me for weeks now that the Celtics will be exploring trade options in the offseason.”

Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday are also among the leading candidates who likely won’t return next season. Stevens, however, emphasized that the goal of building a title contender won’t change during last week’s end-of-season press conference — and that’s regardless of the complex circumstances, such as battling the CBA and overcoming Tatum’s (currently unknown) recovery timetable.